Blue Sky Inn | news & updates

Having the family over for the holidays doesn’t have to be stressful (unless there are people in your family, in which case, you’re sort of out of luck.)  We can ease the tension, though, by adding a few items to your table.

Whole pies are available for Thanksgiving (or any other time) and can be picked up until Wednesday, November 25th.  Pumpkin pies are $14, apple and chocolate pecan pies are $20 each, and our pumpkin cheesecake with gingersnap crust is $24.

This Saturday, November 21st & Sunday, November 22nd from 10 am to 3 pm, Blue Sky Bakery & Cafe will be hosting a seasonal pie-tasting.  For only $5, guests will be served samples of each of our 3 signature pies, along with their choice of coffee, tea or hot apple cider.  The bakery is located at 4749 N. Albany.

Please join us for a fundraiser on Sunday, November 15th for Blue Sky Inn, a local nonprofit organization that provides arts programming and job training to homeless and at-risk youth.

The event will be held from 2-5 pm at Blue Sky Bakery & Cafe, 4749 N. Albany St.  There will be no admission fee, but we will be selling all-natural aromatherapy products from Naturopatch and delicious, healthy chocolates from Xocai.  Both items make wonderful gifts for the holidays, and the proceeds from all sales will be donated to Blue Sky Inn.

Please join us for our signature fundraising event, A Taste of Success, on Friday, November 13th from 6-9 pm. The event will feature hors d’oeuvres and desserts created by the youth working at Blue Sky Bakery & Cafe, a silent auction, a display of artwork created by youth in our eXpressions program, and custom cocktails created and served by expert mixologists from the Illinois Bartenders Guild. We are excited to again have Southern Wine & Spirits as our generous sponsor.

The event will take place in the heart of downtown Chicago at Marwen’s Berkowitz Gallery at 833 N. Orleans. Tickets are $45 in advance, $50 at the door. Tickets may be purchased online here (please write Nov. 13 on designation line,) or by sending a check to:

Blue Sky Inn 3056 W. Sunnyside Ave., #3 Chicago, IL 60625

Auction sponsors include mk, Tru, Lush Wine & Spirits, the Wit Hotel, Studio Within, Clandestino Supper Club, and many more.  Hope to see you there!

Please join us on Saturday,  June 6th

from noon - 5 pm at Lush Wine & Spirits

(1257 S. Halsted) for our spring fundraiser, “Picnics & Pies.”  The day’s activities will include:

• Wine tasting
• Cakewalk
• Activities for kids
• Bags tournament
• Amateur pie baking contest
• Beer by Goose Island
• Picnic lunches created by local chefs, including Charlie Trotter, Randy Zweiban, Ina Pinkney and Rick Bayless

If you fancy yourself a baker and would like to enter the pie contest, email sarah@blueskyinn.org and let us know in which category you will be competing: Best Crust, Best Crumble or Most Creative.  Please bring two of your pies to the event.  The pie contest will be judged by Paula Haney (Hoosier Pie Mama) and Frank Sennett, Editor-in-Chief of Time Out Chicago, and one judge will be selected by raffle at the event.  The winners will have their pie (named after them) featured in the cafe for the month of June.

First, a word of thanks.  To all of you who helped make our October 24th fundraiser such a great success, visited us at the Farmers Markets this summer or have stopped by the bakery: we are truly grateful.  Your continued support and encouragement is sincerely appreciated; we couldn’t do it without you.  And by ‘it,’ we mean anything.  Seriously.

Now, please read on for some tasty upcoming holiday doings!

Seasonal pies
Whole pies will also be available for the holidays.  We will be open all day Wednesday, November 26th for pick-ups and deliveries.

Chocolate Pecan: $20
Apple: $20
Pumpkin: $14
Pumpkin Cheesecake: $25

Holiday gift baskets
Sending a gift basket from blue sky bakery & cafe tells your friends and family that you care about them, and that you support your community.  Sweet!  The following are available for pick-up or delivery:

The Small (or: Thank You for Watching My Cat/ Watering My Plants/ Teaching My Child Most of the State Capitols) $25

• 6 Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• 6 Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
• 6 Raspberry Linzer Cookies
• 6 Gingersnaps

The Medium (or: I’m Rather Fond of You, Actually/ Thanks for Not Making Me Watch Reality TV with You/ I Hope Your Ankle is Better in Time for the Playoffs) $40

• 6 Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• 6 Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
• 6 Raspberry Linzer Cookies
• 6 Gingersnaps
• 4 Cheesecake Brownies
• 1 lb. Bag of Maple Cashew Granola–A Farmers Market Favorite!

The Large (or: Let’s Run Away Together/ You Were Always My Favorite/ Thanks for Dropping the Lawsuit) $60

• 6 Chewy Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• 6 Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
• 6 Raspberry Linzer Cookies
• 12 Gingersnaps
• 8 ounce Jar of Lemon Curd
• 4 Cheesecake Brownies
• 4 Strawberry Almond Tarts
• 1 lb. Bag of Maple Cashew Granola–A Farmers Market Favorite!

Baskets of breakfast pastries are also available.  Please keep in mind that these are most enjoyed the day they are baked and delivered.

Small ($25): One dozen assorted scones, muffins and croissants
Medium ($40): Two dozen assorted scones, muffins and croissants
Large ($60): Three dozen assorted scones, muffins and croissants and six pieces of organic fruit

New retail line: maddy’s organic meals
From time to time, we’ll be inviting local folks to sell their products at blue sky bakery & cafe.  Our first partner is our friend Dori Boneck and her wonderful line of certified organic baby foods, Maddy’s Organic Meals.  Varieties include Appley Ever After, Sweet Fall and Baby Dhal.  Each container is fresh-frozen and available for only $2.50.

Blue Sky Inn will be holding our annual “Taste of Success” event from 6-9 pm on Friday, October 24th at the Around the Coyote Gallery in the Flatiron Arts Building, 1935 ½ W. North Avenue [click here for a map]. The event will feature:

* Expert mixologists from the U.S. Bartenders’ Guild
* Signature cocktails by Southern Wine & Spirits
* Tasty hors d’oeuvres created at our very own blue sky BAKERY & CAFE
* Ambient Jazz of The Rub
* A live auction featuring ‘Dream Job Opportunities,’ including: Reporter at WBEZ, Trainer at the Shedd Aquarium, Chef at Tru, Food & Wine Critic at Time Out Chicago, and lots more!
* Craft beers by Two Brothers Brewing Company
* Artwork created by our youth
* That warm fuzzy feeling you get from supporting programs for homeless and at-risk youth!

Tickets are $40 in advance and $45 at the door. To purchase tickets online, please use this link, enter amount and write ‘October 24 event’ and the number of guests in the designation line.

The bakery is located in Albany Park at 4749 N. Albany (just south of Lawrence, between California & Kedzie.)

We can be reached by phone at (773) 478-CAFE.

We’re currently open Tues-Sun from 7 am to 2 pm.

Free wifi, $2 lattes & freshly-baked goodies, every day.

The leaves on the ground mean it’s pie time, so we’ve been rolling up our sleeves & rolling out some dough.  Our current lineup includes:

Sweet potato with a gingersnap crust

Peach with an almond crumble topping

Chocolate pecan

Apple

Blueberry

(Don’t feel sorry for apple or blueberry.  Just because they don’t have fancy long names does not mean they are not special.)  We’ll be serving all of these at a fundraiser for the Ravenswood Manor Improvement Association tomorrow, but they’re available whole & by the slice, too.  Call ahead if you want to know what we have available.

We are proud to be displaying five pieces of Dolan Geiman’s artwork at the cafe.  If you are not familiar with his work, you can check it out here: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=109732 or stop by the bakery and see it in person.  Dolan has been kind enough to offer to donate a portion of the proceeds from any of these pieces to Blue Sky Inn.  He is pretty awesome.